"Who will give the world light? Sacrifice in the past has been the Law, it will be, alas, for ages to come. The earth's bravest and best will have to sacrifice themselves for the good of many, for the welfare of all." - Swami Vivekananda

New York, Sep 26 (IANS) India will open two more consulates
in the US in Seattle and Atlanta, which are emerging economic
hubs and are home to over 60,000 people of Indian origin.

Announcing the decision here, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar
Menon said Washington had agreed to the Indian proposal to
open the two new consulates based on the twin criteria of
the presence of Indian diaspora and commercial interests.

Menon, however, did not say when the consulates would open.

Seattle is an important centre of trade with India on the
west coast and Atlanta occupies the same position on the east
coast, he said. Over 30,000 Indian Americans live in each
of these cities.

Seattle, home to big-ticket corporations like Boeing, Microsoft,
Starbucks and Amazon.com, is considered the most educated
American city, with more than 50 percent of residents over
25 years of age having at least a bachelor's degree.

Atlanta also boasts of hosting iconic brands like Coca Cola
and CNN, and is among the country's fastest growing areas.

Besides the embassy in Washington, India has consulates in
New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Houston.

Besides its embassy in New Delhi, the US has consulates in
Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai. Hyderabad is next on the list
and Washington is also considering consular services in Bangalore
and Ahmedabad.